No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Characterization of air pollutants observed in three European cathedrals. Is the protective glazing really effective?
... To provide an answer on this question, the European Commission funded the project "VIDRIO" ("Determination of conditions to prevent weathering due to condensation, particle deposition and microorganism growth on stained glass windows with protective glazing"). Besides the Cathedral of Cologne investigations have been also carried out in the Sainte Chapelle, Paris and the Basilica Saint Urbain in Troyes, France [15][16][17][18]. ...
... A minimum value of 366 ppm and a maximum value of 1694 ppm were detected during the whole sampling period. The mean value is really high compared to other monuments as well [15][16][17][18]. The high number of visitors is causing this high level of CO 2 . ...
... The indoor and outdoor concentrations of the 4 most important elements for glass corrosion, i.e. K, Ca, S and Cl, obtained during 4 field campaigns, are presented in Fig. 4. In comparison to other monuments [15][16][17][18], elemental concentrations in the bulk particles were generally lower in Cologne than in Paris and in Troyes. This fact is probably connected to the sampling position at a height of approximately 20 m above the ground near the investigated windows. ...
Levels of urban gaseous and particulate pollutants were investigated in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany in the framework of the EU-project "VIDRIO". The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a protective double glazing system on the preservation of ancient stained glass windows by sampling at protected and unprotected windows (indoors, in the interspace and outdoor of the Cathedral). The interspace between the ancient stained glass window and the protective glazing is flushed in the Cathedral by indoor air, hence isolating the historic glass from the outdoor air and exposing it to indoor air on both sides of the glass panels. Concentrations of aggressive gaseous pollutants such as NO2, SO2, O-3 and CO2 as well as elemental concentrations of bulk particles and relative abundances of single particles were surveyed at all sampling locations. Elemental concentrations in bulk particulate matter were found to be significantly lower inside the Cathedral in comparison to the outdoor air. This result is advantageous for the stained glass windows. Single particle analysis of the samples from Cologne showed also soil dust and organic particles as well as sulphates and nitrates, from which the latter two compounds are dangerous for the stained glass windows. On the base of the obtained results, it can be concluded that the protective glazing system in the Cathedral of Cologne can be considered as predominantly advantageous from both the gases' point of view (except for NO2-candles burning) and from the particles' point of view.
... The levels of some potentially aggressive pollutants for the stained glass windows were investigated inside, in the interspace and outside of the three churches during 1 year [23,24]. ...
... Single particle analysis does usually allow a more detailed identification of the sources of these particles than does bulk analysis. Details of sampling and analysis procedures and of the results are described elsewhere [23][24][25][26]. A brief overview is given here. ...
The methodology of protecting the European stained glass windows against environmental risk (e.g. meteorological factors, air pollution, microorganisms) by means of an external glazing is not new. In spite of many scientific studies carried out in the last 20 years, some questions were still up for discussion. The European VIDRIO (2002–2005) project gave an answer to these questions. The research carried out by the different project partners established a new multidisciplinary approach aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the protective glazing systems and their effects on stained glass windows conservation, and finally at assessing the most appropriate strategy to preserve stained glass windows. Scientific results showed that the so-called isothermal glazing (i.e. ventilation by the air coming from the inside of the building) protected efficiently the ancient stained glass window from environmental attack (i.e. rain, pollutants, condensation, thermal shocks) with very limited secondary effects. The scientific research highlighted that its efficiency was strongly related to the technical design of the protective system. In particular, the ventilation and the size of the interspace had to be carefully considered. The research developed within the VIDRIO project was turned into general recommendations to the owners and practitioners on the best practice for the stained glass windows future conservation.
This paper describes the use of quantitative hyperspectral imaging (QHSI) to analyse fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Experiments were carried out at the National Archives of The Netherlands (Nationaal Archief) with the SEPIA QHSI instrument. The latter is suitable for analysing historical documents with a high intrinsic heterogeneity and for monitoring their local spectral characteristics over time. Recordings were performed on the rectos and versos of a set of nine DSS fragments that belong to the Ronald Reed collection of the John Rylands University Library (Manchester, UK).
An important research line within the research group “Environmental Analysis” (now “Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation - AXES”, University of Antwerp, Belgium) is preventive conservation. Deterioration of precious cultural heritage items can occur through deposition of particulate matter and adsorption of gases. By characterizing these particulate and gaseous atmospheric pollutants, their sources could be identified and hence some of the effects of the indoor/outdoor environment on cultural artefacts could be remedied. Some of these case studies are presented in this work.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.